The Return
by silverbranches
Summary: Alice returns home after her latest adventures in Wonderland. Only this time, she's not alone.
1. Chapter 1

_So this story ignores the end of "Who's Alice" and the preview for "Bad Blood". _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time in Wonderland._

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They were having tea in the small parlor when there was a knocking on the door.

"Millie," Sarah told her daughter. "Go and see who is at the door."

Millie eagerly rushed off, happy to be away from the boring adult conversation. Edwin and Sarah continued to sip at their tea, until Millie rushed back into the room, breathless with excitement.

"Father! Father!" she exclaimed, tugging insistently on his sleeve. "You have to come quick!"

Edwin hurried after her, leaving Sarah to follow after him. He supposed it was some man selling something Millie wanted, or an old beggar lady, or –

He stopped suddenly. Because the person standing there, hovering just outside the doorway, was not a beggar or a salesman. The person standing there was someone he hadn't expected to see here again.

"Alice," he breathed. He hastened the remaining steps to the door, and grabbed her in a tight embrace. "My dear, sweet Alice."

He pushed her back so he could look at her appraisingly. She was wearing clothes similar to the ones she had arrived in a year ago. A short, lacy tunic over dark pants and boots that reached to her knees. His eyes widened at the sight of the sword strapped to her back, but he chose to ignore it, "Alice, we have been so worried about you, ever since we heard…"

"Ever since we heard that you had decided to escape Bethlem," Sarah stated coldly from behind him. "You were the one who made the choice to stay there, _agreed_ that it was the best place for your happiness. So why the sudden change of heart?"  
The happiness in Alice's face dropped a little, replaced for a second with a look of hurt and a tinge of loneliness. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and Alice looked happy once again.

"I had to do something important," she explained. "Do you remember me telling you about Cyrus? I learned that he wasn't dead, but had taken prisoner by Jafar in Wonderland, so I had to go back and – "

"Alice!" Edwin was shocked. After all this time, hadn't she learnt that that was exactly the sort of nonsense that had sent her to Bethlem in the first place?

"I told you that I would not allow you to talk of such silly fantasies while under my roof!" he continued.

"But it's true!" Alice argued. "All of it! You just never believed me because you were too concerned with keeping your _new _family happy. You never cared about what I thought." She shot a look of disgust at Sarah over his shoulder, a look that he was certain his wife was mirroring on her own face.

"Alice…" he began, but was interrupted by another, unfamiliar voice exclaiming, "Alice!"

A man hurried to join them by the door, a foreigner by the looks of his strange clothes and tanned skin. Two others followed at a more sedate pace, a man dressed in clothes of strange material, and a blonde who was wearing a ball gown in a shocking red.

"Alice," the first man repeated. "You rushed off quite fast. You had us worried."

"I'm fine," she replied, and Edwin didn't miss the way she squeezed his hand, or the emotion in her eyes when she looked at him. Edwin was reminded, with a pang in his chest, of the way his first wife had used to look at him. Alice turned back to him.

"Father, may I introduce Cyrus, my betrothed. And these two," she indicated the man and the woman who had finally made it to the door, "are Will, a friend, and Anastasia, the former Red Queen of Wonderland."

Edwin was so shocked to hear that Alice – his little Alice, with the overactive imagination – was betrothed, that he didn't hear anything beyond the first statement. Judging by Sarah's sharp intake of breath, she was not suffering from the same problem.

"This is ridiculous!" she burst out. "Millie does not need to be hearing these foolish fantasies of yours." She directed her attention to the three people with Alice. "How much did she pay you to play along with her little story so that she wouldn't return home a complete disgrace?"

The foreigner, her betrothed - Cyrus, she had called him – seemed upset, but he didn't say anything. The other man – Will – appeared to have no qualms, shooting back, "It's not a ridiculous story! You're just an old had who can't – "

"Enough!" Edwin shouted, not wanting to hear how that insult would end. "Alice, I know that I may have been too harsh last time, but sooner or later you'll have to accept that Wonderland _isn't real_, no matter how much you my think it is. Inventing a story to avoid the scandal of getting engaged so suddenly won't help you."

This time, it actually looked like the Cyrus fellow was about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, the women in red interrupted.

"Oh for goodness' sake," she said. "Hearing you all argue around in circles in making my head hurt. You want proof? Here you go."

She snapped her fingers together, and Edwin wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it _certainly_ wasn't all the objects in the foyer – the flowers, the umbrellas, even the small table – leaving their spots on the ground to float in the air before his very eyes. He could feel himself paling, and he had to grab the doorframe before he fell. Sarah was silent, eyes wide and knuckles white as she clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling. Only Millie seemed unfazed, bouncing with excitement and saying, as soon as the objects returned to their rightful places, "That was amazing! What else can you do?"

Anastasia simply smiled triumphantly and focused on Alice, who simply asked, "Do you believe me now?"

Edwin nodded, and tried to steady his breathing. "I think you had all best come inside," he said at last. "It appears as if there is some explaining to be done."

They all went to the parlor, except for Sarah who escaped to the kitchen to make some tea and calm her nerves. Once they were all settled, Alice started.

"I suppose I should begin at the beginning, and go on till I come to the end," Alice said. "But that would take too long. It all _really_ began when I stumbled upon a genie's bottle in Wonderland…"

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_"Begin at the beginning," the King said very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end; then stop." (Alice in Wonderland) That quote was adapted for the last line._

_Tell me what you think!_


	2. in the darkness of the soul

_Thanks so much for your response to the first part!_

**Disclaimer: Doesn't belong to me.**

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Jafar stood in front of Alice, malice in his eyes and a cruel smirk on his lips. Behind him stood Cyrus, being held down by three guards. HE stared at her, and she could see him mouth a single word. Her name.

_Alice._

Jafar sauntered closer to her, and his fingers tipped her chin up. He leaned close, so close, too close, close enough that she could smell the mint leaves on his breath.

"Just know, Alice dear, that this is _all your fault._ You didn't do what was right, you didn't make your wish, and now others will have to pay the price."

He flicked his fingers, such an idle gesture, but behind him, Alice watched one of the guards draw his sword. Another flick, and the sword plunged into Cyrus' chest.

"No! Cyrus!"

Alice lunged forward, but Jafar grabbed her and twirled her around. Anastasia and Will stood there, Anastasia looking aloof yet desperate, and Will looking defiant, like always.

Jafar's breath ghosted across her ear. "Off with their heads," he whispered.

Alice closed her eyes, because she couldn't bear to see it. She heard the swish of the ax, a dull thump, and then nothing. When she opened her eyes again, everything had disappeared. Jafar, the guards, everyone.

She glanced around, trying to figure out where she's gone and wishing she still had her sword to defend herself. She turned back, and suddenly she was face-to-face with her father.

"You have a choice, Alice," he said, and his voice echoed strangely. "You can return to normal, forget your stories of Wonderland and _Cyrus_, or you can go to Bethlem, where they can give you the care you need."

She remembered this, remembered making her choice, and it was the same choice she made now. Then he _looked_ at her, and his eyes were so full of hate, hatred for his daughter who could never fit into his ordinary little life, and he turned away, waling to Millie and Sarah who had appeared in the distance.

And then she was _there_, in her little room – no, _cell_ – at Bethlem, and she as all alone, because everyone she had ever loved had left, and the loneliness rose up inside and swallowed her whole, and she could do nothing else but scream and scream and scream…

Alice jerked awake, the last echoes of her scream fading away. She was back in her house, not in the prison of Wonderland, not in the cell at Bethlem, but in one of the guest rooms that Sarah had at some point added to the house.

She heard footsteps in the hallway, seconds before the door burst open. Cyrus stood in the doorway, hair mussed from sleep, dressed only in a white shirt and sleep pants. He glanced frantically around the room, searching, Alice supposed, for enemies. He only relaxed when he was sure that the room was clear, and he finally looked at her, huddles against the headboard and shivering.

"Bad dream?" he asked, coming to sit next to her, back to the headboard. Alice nodded, but she was happy when he didn't press for details. He simply sat there quietly, and Alice could feel her shivers stop as his body heat warmed her. She laid her head on his chest, and she could feel his heart beating, reassuring her that he was there, that he was _alive._

"You died," she whispered. "Jafar killed you, and Will, and Anastasia. And my father – he abandoned me when I need him most. What kind of father does that to his child?" She didn't know if she was talking about her dream or reality any more. Perhaps both.

"A father who made mistakes," he replied. "And I'm not saying that what he did was right, but he knows that you were telling the truth all along, and he's trying to make up for it. Just believe that things will work out, and they will."

Alice was reminded of one of the reasons why she loved Cyrus – when she needed him to, he knew exactly the right thing to say.

"He still loves you, Alice," he added. "He just needs time to get used to things."

Alice murmured something in agreement. She was warm, comfortable, and the last vestiges of her nightmare were drifting away – drowsiness was creeping up on her again. Cyrus shifted, making as if he was going to leave her to sleep, but she grabbed onto his wrist.

"No," she mumbled. "Stay."

In the next second, Alice felt him slide underneath the covers before wrapping his arms tightly around her. Smiling, she drifted off to sleep.

Edwin walked down the hallway, heading towards the guest rooms where Alice and her friends were sleeping. If asked, he would say that he wanted to see what time she wanted breakfast. But really, he just wanted to check on her. After a year of feeling shame for the way he'd treated her, he felt like this was finally his opportunity to make things right.

Cracking open the door, he peeked in to see if Alice was already awake. What he saw would have had Sarah screaming at Alice about the impropriety of it all.

Alice and Cyrus were curled around each other under the bedcovers. But Edwin could see dried tear tracks on Alice's face, and the way they looked so…._happy_, even in their sleep.

He shut the door, making sure it didn't make a sound as it closed.

Maybe he would let them sleep a while longer.

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_So I want to write a bit more. If anyone wants to give me prompts - focusing on the group's return from Wonderland or not - then I would love it! However, I don't make any promises about getting stories up __quickly._


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